Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-03-23
THE DETROIT RIOTS.
ANOTHER SERIOUS DISTURBANCE AMONG
THE POLES.
Both Factions in the Religious War JOIN in an Attack
On the POles-Rfy Rioters and Several
Officers ,WUunded-A Very
Lively Time Of it

DETROIT. Mich, March 22.-Excite-
ment in the Polish quarters is still ut
white heat.
OF the Poles in Detroit, over 1000 are
members of st. Albertus parish. OF these
fully 5000 are known as Kolaskians, after
the deposed priest, for whose rights they
have been fighting for nearly eighteen
months. The remaining 1000 are Dom
browskians, and sutain tine priest who sue
ceeded Kolainski.
2 The two factions fight among them
selves, but when the police appear they
make common cause against the blue
coats. The result of Sundays not was
the wounding of Captain Mack and sever
al policemen by stones and other missiles
thrown by the infuriated mob about St
Albertus Church; the shooting Of Annie
Wobrack, Polish girl, in the hip; the ar
rest of John KOtzenber and Antoine Gut
towsky two rioters, and the injury OF be,
tween 1OOand 200 men and women by mis-
siles.
RENEWAL OF THE RIoTING.
1t was long after midnight when the
mob was entirely dispersed, and it was
hardly daybreak yesterday when the
trouble was renewed. The dispersed
Polanders swarmed to the church in large
numbers and swore vengeance on the
police and each other. Each faction ac
cused the other of precipitating the con-
fict, and if they had only been lett to
themselves would have fought it out and
settled the matter probably for good; but
the police appeared, and the whole crowd
turned against the peace-preservers, as
they did Sunday. 1t required great
bravery and Coolness on the part of the
police to prevent bloodShed, but they man
aged to do so until last night. Late in the
afternoon a delegation came from the
Dombrowski faction called on the Superln-
tendent of Police to request that the riot
act be read in the parish. This party laid
all the blame on the Kolasinskians.
About the same hour a delegation of
Kolasinskians called on the City Clerk and
gave formal notice that the Dombrowski-
ans had caused the riot, and that unless
the latter were elected from the church
property there would be no peace. 1t
seems as thonsh the two factions waited
the return OF their respective representa-
tives before making any preconcerted and
determined demOnstI alton.
A BATTLE IN THE STREET.
In the evening nearly every family of
the Kolasinski faction assembled on the
street near the church. A number of men
carried clubs and the women and children
had bricks and other missiles in their hands.
They kept up a continual cbattering and
gesticuating. Hundreds Of people who had
no concern in the church affairs at all
fiocked to the scene There were at low
estimate 5000 people within block of the
church. Fears that the kOlaSlnSkl crowd
would attack the convent or inJure some Oi
the little children who were attending
school drew out a crowd Of DOmbrOwskIS
adhereuts The latter were posted i'll com
Dact form on the corner of st. Aubln ana
Willis avenues, near the church, the
Others being in possession of st. Aubin ave-
nue..
The small squads of police patrOlled the
streets between the two crowds. Then the
two crowds began to close in on the Off
GERS who divided evenly, turned back to
back and charged the mob with drawn
clubs. The little squad fought for their
lives, for the Inaddened Poles seemed bent
on killing them, that they might kill each
other.
For fully five minutes the little squad
fought with their clubs against Oyerwheim-
ing odds. They finally succeeded, after
battering the heads OF a dozen or more
ringleaders, in Overawing them. The Poles
who had pistols fired them, and the police
discharged one or two vOlleys in the air.
1t is estimated that fully fifty Poles were
badly hunt 10y missiles, but how seriously
cannot be learned. Several officers sus-
tanned grave injuries.